Integrating Multiple Case Studies with a Merger and Acquisition Example

Abstract

Schweizer appears to hold a post-positivist philosophy, which he nicely integrates into the pragmativist research design ideology. He does a thorough job at explaining the single and multiple case study methods, using several merger and acquisition examples to illustrate each, respectively. Researchers have a different epistemology in their ideology when using the case study method; the within-case focus is used instead of within-group, and cross-case analysis refers to a between-groups comparison. When researchers follow the post-positivist ideology, a single case study may be conducted like an experiment, observation, or field study method, using deductive theory-driven research questions (or hypotheses). In contrast, when researchers adpot a pragmatic ideology, they are more likely to use multiple case studies, with either a deductive or inductive unit of analysis, with a goal to generalize the findings to other populations.